1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rear door structure for so-called hatchback motor vehicles which includes a rear door or hatch pivotally mounted at its upper edge to the rear open end of the motor vehicle.
2. Discussion of Relevant Art
There has been known a rear door structure for use in hatchbacks which has a rear door or hatch with its upper edge pivotally coupled to the rear open end of the motor vehicle. The rear door comprises a frame surrounding a flat pane of glass.
FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 of the accompanying drawings illustrate one recent rear door structure which is designed to achieve a better appearance and an improved aerodynamic effect. The rear door structure includes a rear door or hatch 100 including a pane of glass 101 having a pair of side marginal edge portions 101a, 101a curved downwardly and forwardly so as to smoothly blend into the side walls of the vehicle body. The pane of glass 101 is supported by a surrounding frame 100a with a weather strip 102 interposed therebetween and extending around the outer peripheral edge of the pane of glass 101. The upper and side edges of the rear door 100 are so shaped that they and the rear edges of a roof panel 103 and rear pillars 104 of the vehicle body jointly form smooth continuous surfaces when the rear door 100 is closed. The rear door frame 100a includes a front frame member pivotally coupled to the rear edge of the roof panel 103 and a rear frame member 105 extending rearwardly from the pane of glass 101. By lifting the rear frame member 105, the rear door 100 is swung open upwardly about the rear edge of the roof panel 103.
The rear pillars 104 extend obliquely forwardly and inwardly in the upward direction and are progressively narrowed upwardly. When the rear door 100 as closed is viewed in plan as shown in FIG. 6, the rear door 100 looks progressively wider from its front edge toward the rear edge of the pane of glass 101, with the rear frame member 105 reduced in width. As a result, when the rear door 100 as it is open is viewed in plan, its edges are indicated by the dot-and-dash lines, exposing a portion S of the passenger's compartment.
When the motor vehicle is wet with rain or a washing solution, water droplets remain on the surface of the rear frame member 105, particularly between the rear frame member 105 and the weather strip 102. As the rear door 100 is lifted open, it is tilted downwardly in the forward direction, allowing the water droplets to flow down the rear frame member 105 forwardly beyond the weather strip 102 and laterally along the weather strip 102. Since the side margins 101a of the glass pane 101 are curved as described above, the water droplets flowing in the forward direction are led to flow laterally, and those flowing laterally tend to undesirably fall off the side edges of the rear door 100 into the exposed portion S of the passenger's compartment as shown in FIG. 7.